Simple pleasures

La Villa

A homely, 16th-century seaside villa on a tiny car-free island, an
hour's ferry ride from the walled city of Dubrovnik

Scattered in turquoise seas off Dubrovnik, Lopud is one of the
largest of the gorgeous, green Elafiti islands. The only settlement
unfolds as you enter a deep bay, guarded by a small
Gothic-Renaissance chapel. With just 220 inhabitants and no cars,
this village of stone cottages, towering palm trees and an
abandoned Franciscan monastery was once a summer bolthole for
Dubrovnik aristocrats.

Today, it appeals to young professionals who want a back-to-nature
escape among some of the loveliest seascapes in the world. And
where better than this 16th-century stone villa, set in smart
gardens right by the sea? Above the ground-floor lounge, with its
library and internet corner, are eight spacious, white-washed
rooms, stylishly furnished with wicker chaise-longues and splashes
of colour from Indian cotton bedcovers and brightly mosaic'd
bathrooms. From the seafront, a path leads across the island
through herb-scented Mediterranean vegetation to one of Croatia's
rare sand beaches set in a blissful bay.